Moses Itauma

After a scintillating run as an amateur at junior and youth levels, prodigious heavyweight Moses Itauma turned professional amid much fanfare on his 18th birthday in December 2022.

He and his promoter Frank Warren made no secret of their lofty goal of beating Mike Tyson’s record of becoming the youngest world heavyweight champion in history. Iron Mike was 20 years and four months old when he won the title giving Itauma until May 2025 to reach that goal.

Itauma kicked off his professional career on January 28, 2023 in emphatic fashion, stopping the badly overmatched Marcel Bode in just 23 seconds. It was a bittersweet evening for Itauma as his brother, Karol, suffered the first defeat of his career on the same undercard. Itauma was out again within two months and again won inside the first round, with Argentina’s Ramon Alberto Ibarra swept aside in 35 seconds.

However, the teenager went the distance for the first time in his third fight, when tough Ukrainian Kosiantyn Dovbyshchenko lasted the full six rounds at the Copper Box Arena on April 15, 2023. Then, in his next outing three months later, Itauma was taken the distance by Kevin Nicolas Espindola in their six-rounder. But Itauma responded to those two points wins and reminded everyone of his explosive potential by racking up four successive first-round stoppages against Amine Boucetta, Istvan Bernath, Michal Boloz and Dan Garber.

In May 2024, in his eighth fight, he stepped up to the 10-round distance but disposed of 25-3 Ilja Mezencev inside two rounds while the heavyweight gatekeeper Mariusz Wach was also stopped in the second round when Itauma punctuated his o2 Arena debut with another inside-distance win on July 27, 2024.

Dan Woledge Jr

When Itauma first walked into the St Mary’s ABC in Kent as a 10-year-old, Dan Woledge Senior knew he had something special on his hands. Soon, his son Dan Jr would start training Itauma as he surged through the amateur scene. Woledge was Itauma’s head trainer for the early stages of his professional career, too, and was in the corner for the final time for the Boloz fight on December 1, 2023. “My dad told me you’ve got to see this kid, he’s 10.” Woledge Jr told Boxing News about the first time he heard about Itauma. “I went down and watched him on the bags and pads and just thought he was unbelievable.”

Alan Smith

Itauma teamed up with Alan Smith at the Ibox Gym in Bromley in late 2023. Smith then prepared the youngster for his showdown with Dan Garber on March 22, 2024 which he won in just 2:22 of the first. “Alan’s one of the top, top coaches in the UK, and he has a great stable, which is only going to be positive for Moses to be around,” his manager Francis Warren said.

Ben Davison

In April 2024, it was announced that Itauma would be joining up with Ben Davison at his performance centre in Harlow, Essex. The move meant Itauma would join a stable full of heavyweight talent like Anthony Joshua, Fabio Wardley and Jeamie TKV. The pair made a strong start with back-to-back stoppage wins in 10-round fights against Ilja Mezencev and then Mariusz Wach.